Faith, Hope and Love
by Gypsy3
Summary: ** COMPLETED!! ** The sequel to Love Letters. Frank discovers that sometimes all you need is love.
1. Prologue

Title: Faith, Hope, and Love

Author:  Gypsy 

Comments: Sure. Flames and Kisses are welcome all the same.

gypsybaby1@attbi.com

Spoilers: None.

Archive: Please ask first.

Rating:  errr..  PG.  I know, I know…. It's a bit tame for me.  Oh well, can't blow up everything, can I? 

Disclaimers: The characters involved the property of NBC Entertainment. No copyright infringement is intended. Original characters, however, are the property of the author.   So this means you can't sue me!!  Unless you want my car payment, collection of river rocks, unique goblets and my clones... who only mind me... some of the time…

****

She heard thumping in her dream… why would she hear thumping? Groggily, she lifted her head off of the pillow and squinted. The lights were still on? She didn't remember lying down. But there the proof was in the rumpled sheets and her bleary vision.

Frank stood in front of the door and looked at his watch. He'd been knocking for 5 minutes and still no answer. Maybe she was dead to the world... He turned to go, pausing only when he heard movement inside the apartment.

Buoyed by the noise, he raised his fist to knock again. Right as his knuckles were about to strike the door, it opened up. There, in front of him, was a very sleepy Miss Weathers.

Frank paused, looking her over slowly. Her auburn spirals were tangled and slightly mussed from sleep, her pale green eyes were half-closed and the clothing she wore was rumpled like she had fallen asleep still completely dressed.

Hope blinked at the bright light from the hallway, then shrieked and slammed the door. Frank stumbled back, not from being hit by the door, but from surprise.

"Miss Weathers?"

"Uhm, please go away..." came the muffled reply

Frank chuckled softly. "Miss Weathers, open the door please, I'd like to talk with you."

"I'm really tired and need to go to bed." Hope groaned and closed her eyes. What a pathetically lame excuse.

"I do apologize for waking you up. But, if you do not open the door, then I will push my way in." Not that he would really, but maybe she'd see reason and be the gentle Lady he'd seen in her letters.

"You… You would NOT!" she gasped.

"Try me. I really do want to talk with you. Please open the door and let me do it face to face."

Frank held his breath when no reply was given. He stood there for precious few minutes. Maybe she was ignoring him. His stomach began to sink the longer the silence echoed in the hallway.

Hope was trying to keep from hyperventilating on the other side of the door. Would he really break the door in? 'Stop it Hope!' she chided herself. 'He is an adult and so are you, so STOP acting like a scared child!' Tentatively she reached out and grasped the doorknob.

Frank's breath expelled slowly as he heard the door open slowly. Hope stood there, her hair still mussed and a half-frightened look on her face as she looked at him.

"I won't hurt you." He said softly as he stepped closer.

"I know," she breathed. She couldn't lift her head to look up at him. Instead she kept looking at his shoes the closer he got. The closer he got the faster her breathing got. By the time he was literally inside the door and mere inches from her, she was near hyperventilation.

"Hope… please calm down. Why do I scare you so much?" he asked quietly as he stepped to the side and allowed her both some room to breath and some room to close the door.

"You don't. This does." She answered, her eyes still looking at the carpet.

"What is this then?" Frank gently took her hand off of the door and closed it for her when she didn't move. She appeared to be absolutely terrified.

Hope closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths of his scent. Jesus he smelled divine. All she wanted to do was bury her face in the curve of his neck and breathe in that scent. But, she could not summon the strength to lift her head.

Frank looked at Hope, studying the stop of her head. Absently he put his hand under her chin and ever so gently lifted her head up so that he could look her in the eye. His chocolate brown eyes met her pale green eyes and studied them for what felt like an eternity. Behind those eyes was the woman who'd touched him heart and soul. The same woman who had fallen in love with someone she'd never met and that, through her words, caused him to fall in love with her.

"You wrote one time, that love should end with hope."

"Is that what this is, Frank?" she whispered. "Is that why you are here now?"

"I don't know, Hope." Frank paused and stepped back a bit. "What is your real name, by the way?"

"Hope." Hope blinked and smiled.

Frank found himself warming with her smile. The simple gesture warmed up her eyes and she literally radiated sunshine when she smiled. "Seriously?"

"Hope Quinn Weathers, at your service."

****


	2. Oceans In Between Us

****

3 Months Later…

--

"How long has she been gone?"

Frank looked up to see Jake standing in the doorway.  He sighed and leaned back in his chair.  "2 weeks and 4 days."

"Good God Frank.  Counting the days too?"

"I'm counting the hours actually.  Any luck on tracking her down?"

"None.  Of course, we haven't had much time to locate her since we've been working."

"I know.  Was there something you wanted Jake?"

"No.  Just to see how you were holding up."  Jake watched Frank for a moment.  He knew that his boss had been pretty torn up since he found out Hope had split without telling him.  All the team knew was that she'd left him a letter with the doorman at their apartment building instead of at his door.  Through their entire relationship, all 2 and a half months of it, anytime she'd needed to leave him notes or letters, she dropped them at his door.  It had to have been a slap in the face to get the letter from the doorman instead of 'in person'.  Frank had yet to share any part of that letter with them.  "Hey…"

"What?"

"Why did she leave Frank?  We know you got a letter from her.  Does it tell you why?"

"Yes, it does.  Thanks Jake."  Frank leaned forward and started to analyze the file in front of him, effectively ending the conversation between he and Jake.  He heard the door close quietly as Jake left, then closed his eyes and sighed heavily.  It'd hurt like hell to get her last letter to him from Gerard instead of at his doorstep.  Frank sat up in his chair and turned around to look out of the window behind him.  The cityscape stretched out far and wide in front of him now.  But, it was cold and lonely without hope.  Or Hope for that matter.

_"Someone new moving in Gerard?"  Frank asked lightly as he picked up his mail at the post boxes there in the lobby._

_"No sir Mr. Donovan."  Gerard chewed his lower lip for a moment.  "Someone's moving out."_

_"Oh?"  Frank turned back and saw Gerard's nervous chewing.  "Everything all right?"_

_"Uh, no Mr. Donovan.  This…" he picked up an envelope and laid it on the semi-circular desk-top.  "This is for you."_

_Frank's eyebrows knit together in puzzlement.  Something was not sitting well with Gerard and it showed in his face and his hesitation in answering him.  He looked at the envelope for a moment, then back up at Gerard.  "Miss Weathers left this for me?"_

_"Yes Mr. Donovan.  She left it with me this morning and said to tell you…"_

_"Yes, Gerard?"  
  
_

_"That she's sorry."_

_Frank's eyebrows rose clear up to his hairline and he put his mail on the desk as he reached for her letter.  She was sorry… for what?  They hadn't had a fight that he remembered nor did she hurt him._

_Gerard watched as Mr. Donovan's fingers ripped open the sealed envelope and unfolded the letter.  Through the thick cream colored stationary, he could see the shadow of handwriting.  As the man read the letter, Gerard saw his eyes widen in shock._

_"No.."  Frank pulled the letter down and looked at Gerard.  "When did she leave?!"_

_"She left this morning Mr. Donovan.  She looked like she was going to work.  The moving people came about thirty minutes ago."_

_Both Gerard and Frank turned as the elevator chimed and out came two men carrying a sofa.  Frank's jaw dropped slightly when he recognized it as Hope's.  She wasn't bluffing then, she really was leaving._

_"I'm sorry, Mr. Donovan."_

_"Yes… " Frank looked down, then sighed and looked up at Gerard.  "Thank you."_

Frank sighed and leaned his head back onto the chair.  Why hadn't she come talk to him before leaving?"

--

New York City, NY

"QUINN!!"

Hope cringed behind her desk and laid down her pen.  She snuck a glance at the person sitting across the desk from her and groaned.  Mellody was cringing too.  "I guess I better go see what the battle axe wants now," she sighed as she stood up.

"Be nice to him Hope.  He's the one who signs your paycheck!" Mell said quietly as Hope started towards their boss' office.

"QUINN GET YOUR ASS IN HERE!" Mackenzie bellowed as he stood in the doorway.

"I'm right here Sir.  There's no need to yell."

"Oh, right.  It's about damned time you got here.  Come in and sit down, I want to talk about this latest piece you call an article."  Mac closed the door behind her and stomped over to his desk.

Hope groaned inwardly and sat down.  In the two weeks since she'd accepted the writing position here in New York, her boss had been nothing but over-bearing, rude, arrogant and completely…. She sighed and shook her head.  He'd been completely right.

"What's going on Quinn?  Why aren't you living up to the recommendations of your previous employers?"

"What do you mean?"

Mac sighed and settled back in his chair.  "Quinn, when I hired you, it was on the basis that every single one of your editors had nothing bit glowing reports to give me about your work.  Look, I've read some of your previous work and it's fantastic.  I hired that writer!  Instead I got you.  What's different?"

"Nothing, Sir.  I just…"

"You've lost something."

Hope looked at him for a moment, then nodded silently.

"I see."  He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the desk. "I also see that you've applied and interviewed for an Associate Editor's position over in Entertainment.  Is this what you really want?"

"Yes Sir.  I can't write anymore.  It's gone.  Whatever it was, it's gone."

Mac watched her for a moment.  She looked like she was defeated.  In the short time she'd been at his newspaper, she'd displayed none of the fire and vibrancy that her previous editor had groused about.  'She is light a bonfire in a pile of dry leaves.  One spark from her and we're all on fire' he'd said.  Where that fire was, Mac couldn't say because he hadn't seen it once.  Well, he had - once.  One of the secretaries had started a conversation about significant others and he'd seen a spark light in Quinn's eyes.  The change had been dramatic.  But, just as quickly as he'd seen the spark, it was gone and back was the quiet Hope that had been there in the shadows.

"Why did you take this job, Quinn?"

"Excuse me?"  Hope looked up, startled.  She hadn't been expecting this question.

"Why did you leave your previous job and come here?"

"I…" she couldn't tell him about running from Frank.  There wasn't one particular reason she'd left really.  She just felt… "I needed a changed Mac.  I needed something different.  I can't explain it and I don't expect you to understand."

Mac chewed his tongue for a moment, then shrugged.  "All right then.  I'll give my recommendation for the editor's position."

Hope breathed a sigh of relief and started to stand up.

"Quinn."

"Yes Sir?"  Hope froze in mid-crouch, hands still on the arms of the chair.

"Whatever this is that's got you in a rat-hole.. get over it.  Do whatever it is you have to do, but get over it."  He looked up at her with compassionate eyes.  "I don't know what it is you ran from in Chicago.  But maybe it's time you went back and took care of matters.  Now get out of my office and back to work."

Hope smiled and dashed out of Mac's office.

"What'd he want?" Mell asked quietly as Hope sat down.

"He's giving me his endorsement for the Associate Editor's position over in Entertainment."

"He is?!  Oh Hope that's great!  Why did he sound so prissy about it though?"

"He's unhappy with my work.  He said that the writer he hired and the writer he got aren't the same."

Mellody blinked.  Across the desk from her sat a woman she'd grown close to over the past two weeks.  She was a kind woman with a heart of gold… but that heart had a chain on it and it was easy to see.  "What else did he say?"

"That maybe it's time I got past what it is I ran from.  Aw Mell… " Hope sighed.  "Come out to lunch with me.  I think it's time I told you a story."

****


	3. Reasons and Regrets

****

2 Days Later…

__

Hope rolled over and stretched. Frank smiled softly as he watched her waking up. Even as intimate as they had become with one another in the last two months, they still had yet to make love. It wasn't for lack of desire or urge… it just… he never could put his finger on it. He felt shy around her, hesitant. He didn't want to hurt her in anyway. Maybe he was just a little scared too.

"What are you staring at?" she said quietly.

Frank startled in his chair and came back to reality. He hated that he kept drifting off into daydreams about Hope. He spun around in his chair and looked at the door. He'd locked it a little while ago after the rest of the team went out for lunch. Turning back around to the window, Frank closed his eyes against the sun coming in and returned back to his daydream.

__

"What do you mean?"

Hope smiled softly and curled up against the pillow. She slept in the nude, obviously quite comfortable with Frank's presence overnight. If it bothered her that they hadn't been physically intimate, she'd never told him. "I mean, why are you looking at me like that."

"Oh. I like watching you sleep." He slid off of the chair and knelt beside the bed, crossing his arms in front of him as he leaned forward. "You're so adorable."

"Adorable, huh?" She rolled over onto her back and sat up, wrapping her arms around her knees. "How on earth can I be adorable when I have no make up on and my hair is in tangles?"

"I don't know, you just are." Frank moved and sat next to her on her bed, his hands lightly massaging her neck and shoulders. "I like the way you look when you wake up." He whispered in her ear.

Hope shivered under his hands, her head leaning back to come to a rest on his shoulder as his arms wrapped around her.

"You're kidding?!"

"No Mellody. I'm not kidding."

"In two months you two never… ya know.."

"Nope. I wish I knew why. It's not like there wasn't attraction or the urge. But each time I made a move on him, he just sort of fended me off. We slept in the same bed from time to time, but we were never intimate that way."

"No wonder you left his ass!"

Hope shot Mellody a sharp glare. "Don't ever speak like that again!! It wasn't lack of sex that caused me to leave!" When Mellody blinked and dropped her jaw, Hope sighed. "I'm sorry Mell. Talking about Frank kind of puts me on edge."

"What happened girl?"

"I never knew if he loved me."

__

"Frank."

"Yes Hope?"

She watched him as he turned around. He'd been dressing and in the middle of buckling the belt around his waist. "Where is this going between us?"

She could see her question caught him off guard. He stood there, a blank look on his face as he looked at her. "Um, between us?"

"Yes Frank." She slid up to her knees and wrapped her arms around his neck. She felt his hands come to rest on her hips as she leaned against him. She still had yet to put one stitch of clothing on. "Will this relationship go any further?"

He made some small noise and she felt his hands rubbing the small of her back tenderly. "Hope…"

"Frank, you know that I love you… right?"

"Yes, you've told me." He sighed and stepped back. "It's not that I don't care for you, I do and you know it. I just don't want to be responsible for you getting hurt."

"How can I get hurt? I'm only asking you if you love me too."

Frank sighed and pulled his hands back to her waist, then lifted one hand to cup her cheek tenderly. How could he put into words what he felt each time he looked at her? She was an innocent in the game of life. He loved her, he knew he did. So why couldn't he tell her that? Why did she have to ask him that? "Hope.. it's complicated. There's a lot you don't understand. Look, I have to go out of town for a few days. I'll be in Washington D.C. and you can reach me on my cell phone."

"Oh bloody hell why didn't I just answer the damned question." Frank groaned as he opened his eyes. "It wouldn't have been as horrible as I'd imagined."

"She asked you if you loved her, didn't she?"

Frank spun around in his chair to see Alex sitting there in front of his desk. He didn't even hear the lock open or her walking in.

"It's OK Frank. I can pick locks. Plus, we have a spare key and I've got light feet. You didn't answer my question. Hope asked you if you loved her, didn't she?"

"Yes. But that's not all of it. Alex, I never told her."

"Told her what? That you loved her? Cared for her?"

"That I worked for the Justice Department. I told her that I worked for the government and that was it. She never pressed me for anything else, said that when it was time to be honest, she'd listen."

"Oh Jesus Frank!!"

"I know, I know… Alex, I just didn't want to risk exposing her to the dangerous side of our work."

"That's not your choice to make Frank. It's hers."

__

Frank answered his cell phone and excused himself from the meeting he was in. "Donovan."

"Hi Frank!"

"Hope. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Look, I wanted to pick your brain a moment."

"Can it wait?"

"Give me five minutes, please?"

"OK - shoot." He leaned up against the wall and listened.

"You know I work for the Tribune, right?"

"Yes."

"OK - we got this anonymous tip a while back about some drug busts going down. Now, I know you work for the government and I wanted to run this story by you, just so I can get some details right."

"Story?"

Hope sighed and shifted her position in her chair. "Yes, story. I'm writing an article on these drug busts. A lot of the locals have been arrested and the local police are being completely closed mouthed about it all. Frank, I think there's something else going on."

"And what does this have to do with me?"

She could hear the tension in his voice. She'd hit some kind of nerve. "Nothing I suppose. I just wanted to get some titles and details correct. Look, I stumbled on some information while digging up the details of the busts. There's been one consistent person in all of this, but he's either a twin or he's an undercover."

"Hope. Stop, right now. If he's an undercover police officer, then the department is tight lipped for a reason."

"Frank, I'm not stupid! I had no plans of releasing his name or his picture!"

"Don't do the story Hope. If you do and you mention an undercover agent working the drug ring, then you're effectively ruining the work of what could possibly be years worth of effort and sweat."

Hope sat there in stunned silence. How could he ask her to keep her mouth shut on this? "Frank, it's breaking news!! Something is finally being done about the drug problem here in Chicago and I want to be the one to tell the public! This is the story I've waited for since I became a journalist!"

"Hope, I'm begging you - don't do the story."

Now she could hear the desperation in his voice. "Why is this so important to you?"

"Because he's my agent."

"Oh my God!! He was a Federal Agent and didn't even tell you?" Mellody sipped on her coke as Hope nodded quietly.

"Yeah. He worked… works for the Justice Department. When he told me that, it was like everything fell into place about why he never talked about work, why I never met but the one co-worker of his, some woman named Monica… and why he begged me to not run the story. Mellody, I never pushed him for details, but wouldn't it have been courteous to have told me before I had to press it out of him?"

"Well, I think it would. But, if he was protecting his people…"

Hope sighed and looked down, picking at her French Fries. They'd been at lunch now for over an hour, closer to two hours. Mac would be furious when they got back, but right now she didn't care. She'd gotten the editor's job in Entertainment and Mac knew it. Besides, he'd encouraged her to get past whatever it was that was bothering her. Perhaps if she shared it with someone, she could. She'd been telling Mellody over lunch for two days now the story behind her and Frank - how they met and their ensuing short relationship.

__

She met him at the door with a smile. "I made dinner. When you called and said that you were on your way from D.C…"

"Hope, we have to talk." Frank closed the door behind him and led her to the couch.

"Frank, is everything all right?" She was beginning to worry. When she'd hung up on him yesterday, she hadn't heard a word out of him before a few hours ago when he'd called from the airport and said he'd be at her place that night.

"No. Please, tell me you didn't run that story."

"STOP!" Hope stood up and walked towards the kitchen. "I can't believe you're still going on about that!"

"HOPE!" he thundered at her. He watched as she turned around, a look of shock mixed with a little tinge of fear in her eyes. He'd never yelled at her before. Seeing that look in her eyes ripped at him. "I'm sorry. But you have to understand, I have to do everything I can to protect my agents."

Hope looked at him a moment, then nodded and turned to go into the kitchen. Frank sighed as the swinging door swung closed behind her. He shucked off his jacket and followed her into the kitchen. On the tile top island sat an open bottle of wine and a half full balloon glass of the deep red liquid.

"I'm sorry."

Frank looked up at her soft whisper. "For what?"

She turned around and stepped up to the island, her fingers curling around the bowl of the glass in front of her. "I don't know… for pressing you I guess."

"You didn't press me. There are reasons I kept things hidden from you. I did it to protect both you and my people."

Hope nodded. She hadn't lifted the glass to her lips yet, just gently ran her thumb over the rolled bead edging of the smooth glass. "You never said why. Frank," she looked up at him. It killed him to see an ache in her pale green eyes. "Why have you never touched me or tried to make love to me?"

Frank blinked a moment. "I'm afraid of hurting you. I live in a very dangerous world with very dangerous people. I cannot take the risk of these people finding out about you and coming after you to get to me."

Hope nodded, lifting the glass to her lips and taking a small sip.

"You do understand, right?" Frank inched closer to her. He covered her hand with his as it lay on the countertop. "Please Hope. I couldn't bear it if anything were to happen to you because of me."

"I understand."

"So you pushed away the sweetest thing in your life because you didn't want to see her hurt. Frank Donovan I could kick your ass right now."

Frank looked up in shock. "Can you honestly say that you would do anything differently?"

"I'd have a little more faith in her love, for one. Second, I'd have a little more faith in her. Frank, I don't have to tell you that you were wrong."

"No, Alex, I know I was wrong. But you don't know the half of it."

__

Hope rolled over in bed and rested her head on his chest. He listened to her breathing in the darkness. Absently he stroked her hair as he lay awake, staring at the ceiling and trying to sort out their conversation over dinner. She had been quiet most of dinner, not asking him any questions at all. He did finally get out of her that she'd had a bad day - down to and including her editor screaming at her when she turned in the article. He'd raked her over the coals for doing a less than thorough job and he'd put her on probation. She also told him that she'd received a job offer in New York City. It was because of him and his firm stance that she'd gotten yelled at. No one should yell at Hope. She was a fragile being on the outside. But, he had a feeling that inside she had strong reserves of strength. She just hadn't tapped into them yet.

Hope's eyes were wide open as she rested on Frank's chest, listening to his heart beating. She inhaled deeply taking in the scent of him. She knew he wasn't asleep any more than she was. Everything they'd discussed before dinner came back to her. Maybe that's why he had never said that he loved her. "Frank?" she asked quietly.

"Yes Hope?"

She closed her eyes for a moment, listening to his equally quiet reply. "You never said you loved me." She raised up and looked down at him. "I know you care for me, I know you want to protect me. But I don't know if you love me. Why can't you just tell me?"

"I shouldn't have to tell you Hope." He said plainly.

She blinked for a moment, then laid her head down on his chest again. She processed what he'd said. He shouldn't have to tell her… "I did it for you Frank. The article. I had it completely written when I called you, but I trashed it when you asked me to."

She felt his hands stop their idle paths over her skin when she stopped speaking. She heard him clear his throat in the darkness and a whispered, "Thank You. I appreciate that. I have to protect my team first and foremost."

Hope felt a sharp pain in her chest. She squeezed her eyes shut and hung her head.

"Oh sweetheart, I'm so sorry.." Mellody whispered as she reached for Hope's hand. She squeezed it supportively and kept quiet until Hope's eyes opened. They were a deeper shade of green and slick with tears.

"The next morning I went to work and called Mac, told him I'd take the job."

"Just like that?"

"Well, when a guy tells you that he shouldn't have to tell you that he loves you, then tells you that he thinks of his employees first and foremost…" she hiccuped and paused a few moments to calm herself. "I just…"

"I know. I understand. But Hope, you've got to talk to this Frank about it."

"He won't understand. He can't tell me that he loves me, what makes you think he'll understand how hurt I am?"

--

"You said what?" Alex was about ready to come over the desk at Frank. After hearing what he'd said to Hope, Alex was completely dumbstruck. Not even Cody was that oblivious. "All she needed to hear from you was three little words!! How could you NOT make an effort to say them?"

It was Frank's turn to get indignant. "Alex, that's enough! I don't need you to lecture me on what I should and should not have said!"

"Well, apparently you do!! God damn it Frank! She tells you she jeopardized her career for you and you tell her that your team is most important to you? How thick headed are you?"

Frank glared at her for a moment before turning to look out of the window behind him. "I know Alex," he said quietly. "For the first time in my life I'm regretting something I said and something I didn't say."

"So tell her."

"I can't. I don't know where she is."

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe, if you call the editor of her newspaper, that they'll be more than happy to tell you?"

****


	4. Well Intended Meddlings

****

The Next Morning…

--

Mellody closed the door to Mac's office behind her.  It took a moment for the Editor In Chief to realize what the noise was he'd heard and look up.  "What do you want Cynders?" he asked gruffly.

Mellody chuckled.  In her entire time here at the Times, he'd been gruff to everyone.  But the gruffness covered a softy at heart.  It didn't hurt that he was great to her - both in bed and at home.  "Calm down Mac.  I want to call in a favor."

Mac looked up at her and leaned back in his chair.  "What kind of favor?"  He knew that his wife only called in favors when she really wanted something bad.

"Do you have any kind of story that would involve sending a reporter out to Chicago?"

He eyed her a minute as she sauntered over to his desk and sat down on the corner of it.  Mac watched her smile coyly and reach for his tie.  "Might.  Why?"

"Hope needs to go to Chicago to finish some business."

"Can't, she took the editor's position."

"Well, she can do one last story for you.  Come on Mac.  One last story for her before she moves on.  Something easy."

Mac sighed and chewed his lip.  "I think I can come up with something.  Maybe the Chief Editor over in Entertainment can cook up something for her.  A sort of 'welcome present' to the department."

--

Alex smiled as she leaned in the doorway to Frank's office.

"Are you here for a reason, or are you just there to lean in the doorway?"

"Ever the dry sense of humor.  Jesus you've been unbearable since Hope left.  Here – say thank you."

Frank looked at the envelope that Alex dropped on the desk in front of him.  "What's this?"

"What does it look like?"

Frank sighed and picked it up.  He turned it over and opened it.  Inside was a round trip ticket to New York and a sticky note with a phone number on it.  "An airplane ticket to New York.  No Alex, I'm not going."

"Why?  You love her right?"

"Yes, you know I do."

"So get off of your dead ass and go after her.  Talk to her about why she left.  That name and phone number belong to the Editor of the New York Times.  He's the one who hired Hope right out of the Tribune.  He's bound to know where she is at any given time.  
  


"I said no.  I won't be pushed into it."

"So that's that?  You're going to let her go that easily after everything you told me a few days ago?"

"She's the one who left me, Alex.  I didn't-"

"Oh get off of your soap box Frank!  You might as well have pushed her off of the top of the Sear's Tower with your 'my team comes first' thing.  Jesus Frank, would it have killed you to have told her ONE TIME that you loved her?"

Frank looked up at her for a moment, then at the ticket.  What harm would it do for him to at least fly to New York for the weekend?  If he ran across Hope, then fine, maybe he'd get some answers out of her.  Maybe he'd finally work up the strength to tell her that he did love her and put the ball back into her court regarding their relationship.

Alex watched the gears working in his head.  "Oh for the love of God Frank…"  She sighed and sat down.  "You're thinking about this way too much.  For once, just once, put your logic aside and let your heart do the thinking."

"You get into trouble that way Alex.  You do irrational and stupid things."

"What?  Like fall in love with a complete stranger just because of what she writes in a letter to you?"

Frank was about to answer her when he just stopped.  Alex was right…  Somewhere in his and Hope's relationship, he stopped feeling and started thinking.  There were just too many variables for him to consider when it came to protecting Hope and it got the better of him.

"Take the ticket, go to New York.  You'll feel better about it."  Alex smiled and stood up, leaving Frank alone to think about it.  She knew instinctively that he'd go.

Frank picked up the ticket and eyed it carefully.  The flight left in a few hours.  Would he have enough time to go home and pack?  "Aw hell…" he sighed as he pushed away from the desk and stood up.  It was only an over night trip.  He had credit cards.  Anything he needed if he decided to stay overnight he could purchase in New York.  Without another word he rushed out of his office, out of the Nest and into a cab.

"O'Hare International.  Quickly."

--

"You're WHAT?!"

"Now Quinn…"  Mac cringed as Hope stood up over his desk and glared evilly at him.  Those lime green eyes were positively electric in their anger.

"Now nothing Mac!!  I just got the job over in Entertainment and you want to send me to Chicago for one last hurrah??  No thank you!  I ran from Chicago as fast as I could and I don't relish a trip back!"

"Ran?  Just what did you run from?"  Mac sat forward as Quinn blinked and straightened up.

"Uhm, did I say ran?  I… didn't… run from anything.. I ran TO this job."  She sat down slowly, chewing her lower lip.

"Uh huh.  And I'm Sheena, Queen of the Jungle.  Look kid, you're going to Chicago to cover this story and that's that.  It's only a two-day trip, fluff writing for you.  Here's your ticket and itinerary.  You've got a room booked at the Adam's Mark Hotel and  the 'Hawk's PR person will be expecting you for dinner."

"Mac…"  Hope sighed and took the envelope.  "I know jack about sports writing, precious less about hockey."

"Don't think of it as a sports column interview.  Think of it as a biography of sorts or an entertainment value that our affiliate in Chicago hasn't thought to share with us yet.  Go on Quinn, you've only got a few hours before your plane leaves and traffic is a nightmare.  You'll be lucky if you make it home to pack a suitcase at all.  If you need to, you can use the expense account to purchase clothing and necessities for your stay.  But, keep the receipts so that accounting will know how much to hit you up for when the bills come in."

Hope groaned.  Chicago.  Frank.  What the hell did she do to deserve this?  She breezed out of Mac's office and stopped by her desk to pick up her credentials and a few necessary items before she left.  She couldn't help but notice Mellody's 'cat that ate the canary' look as she watched Hope get ready to leave.  "Please tell me you didn't have anything to do with this sudden trip?"

"No, no, not at all."  Mellody smiled serenely and laid her pen down in front of her keyboard.  "I had nothing to do with this interview."

Hope froze and raised up slowly, her Press Credentials in one hand.  Mellody had just tipped the scales to reveal her hand in it.  "You scheming, conniving…"

"Now, Hope.."

"Now nothing!!  I should never have told you about Frank and why I left Chicago!"  Tears stung Hope's eyes at the thought of being played into this spot by her friend.  

"You have to get it over with Hope.  Find Frank and talk to him.  Let him know how you feel and tell him why you left."

"He knows why I left and he knows how I feel."  Hope dropped down into her chair dejectedly and sighed.  "I just wish I knew how he felt about me."

Mellody chuckled softly at Hope.  In some ways, she was still so innocent.

"Is it so wrong of me to want to hear him say the words?  I mean, just because he doesn't say it, does it mean that he doesn't love me?"

"Oh honey.  Let me tell you a little secret: some men just can't say the words."  She smiled as she looked into Hope's eyes.  "But, that doesn't mean that they don't feel it in their heart.  Go to Chicago, talk to Frank.  If nothing else, you'll feel better for having done so."

Hope watched Mellody for a second, then nodded.  Picking up the itinerary and her purse, she nearly flew down the hallway, into the elevator, across the lobby and into a waiting taxi.

"JFK International Airport.  Quickly."

****


	5. Timing is Everything

A/N - I'm a bit confused. I received a review yesterday from someone named Shirl that simply said 'farfetched'. I wish she'd elaborated a bit more and explained what she felt was farfetched about the story/chapter.

I feel that in Frank's shoes, I would have done/said the same thing. He's a very secretive and private man that keeps his personal life separated from his work. What's to say that he wouldn't have said that to keep Hope safe in his mind?

Love makes people do strange things, and say even stranger things. 

OK - end of note ~L~ enjoy the comedy of errors!

-Gypsy

****

Frank looked up at the high-rise building in front of him. This was where Hope worked according to Alex and Jake's snooping. So why couldn't he get his feet to move? If the truth were known, he was terrified of seeing her. That terror stemmed from the letter she left him when she departed Chicago. He looked down at the note in his hand with Alex's handwriting, giving the number and the name of Hope's Editor.

__

'An opportunity has come up that I can't pass on. It seems there is nothing to hold me here, Frank. I'm sorry it's come to this, but you can't tell me what I need to hear and I can't stop being who I am. I do love you Frank, but you've never said that you love me and I can't explain why, but I need to hear it. Oh, Frank, if only I could make you understand what it feels like to be in second place to the people you work with, to be thought of second and sometimes last. No matter what happens Frank, you will always be the first of my heart and in my heart. Know that I love you even as I write this and know that I will love you even if you never see me again.'

She spoke in her letter as if she never expected to see him again, as if he wouldn't try to find her again. Until Alex stuck her nose into this affair, she was partly right. He would have come after her eventually. He had just wanted to give her time to realize that what she'd done wasn't fair to either of them. Hope knew above all else that she could always talk to him. So why didn't she? Because, he'd said plainly that his team came first. Stupid him… in his own defense, Frank reasoned with himself, he was slightly sleepy and half asleep when he'd said it. But that didn't make him or Hope feel any better.

"Best to get it over with." Frank sighed and walked into the lobby of the building. He stepped into an elevator and waited patiently as the car ascended the floors. One of the women in the car smiled prettily at him, to which he returned the smile tepidly. He didn't want to be in here… he wanted to be right in front of Hope, gathering her into his arms and kissing her speechless.

Mellody noticed the man in the car with her. He was handsome, even sexy if he'd smile genuinely and stop looking at the floor counter in irritation. When the elevator chimed for her floor, she smiled again and stepped through the doors. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the man get off of the elevator with her and stop to look around.

"Are you lost?"

Frank startled and turned around to see the woman from the elevator. "Yes. I'm looking for a Mackenzie Frasier. He's the Editor of the Times."

"Ah. He's this way. I work for him. Follow me please." Mellody smiled as she turned around and led the man down the hallway. "So, you're not from New York, are you?"

"Ah, No." Frank answered. "I'm looking for someone and was told that Mr. Frasier could answer some questions for me."

"How mysterious. Just who are you looking for?"

Frank looked at the woman for a moment. After all, she might know where Hope was if she worked for Mackenzie Frasier as well. "You might know her. I'm looking for Hope Weathers."

Mellody stopped in her tracks and stared at him with wide eyes. "H-Hope?"

"You know her?"

"Uhm…" Mellody bit her lip. This wasn't part of the plan. If he was looking for Hope, then chances were this was Frank Donovan. "She's… uhm, she's not here."

"What do you mean?" Frank leaned over the woman, intentionally intimidating her. If he scared her enough, she'd probably tell him everything, including her mother's maiden name.

Mellody's eyes widened even more and she squeaked. "She… she's, uhm, on assignment. Left just a few hours ago for Chicago to do a story."

"SHE.. DID.. WHAT?!" Frank thundered. The woman let out a soft shriek and jumped back as he turned back towards the elevators.

"Mr. Donovan! WAIT!!" Mellody darted after him and put herself between him and the elevator doors. "Wait Mr. Donovan, I need to explain something!"

Frank looked down with a scowl. How the blue bloody blazes did she know his name? "I'm waiting," he growled dangerously.

"She… she didn't want to go. Mac.. Mackenzie and I cooked up a plot to get her to go back to Chicago so she could talk to you! Mr. Donovan, she loves you and misses you terribly. The assignment was a fluff job that an intern could do with their eyes closed. We were hoping that it would be done in a moment or two and she'd have some time to seek you out."

Frank stepped back a moment. This woman was playing matchmaker with he and Hope? "When is she due back?"

"A day, maybe two. Mr. Donovan, we can put you up in a hotel until she comes back."

"No. I'm flying back to Chicago immediately. I'll find her a lot faster there than if I waited here to talk to her." Frank nodded curtly as the doors to the elevator opened. Stepping in, he turned around. "Call Hope. Suggest she meet me at the Tribune building."

Mellody sighed as the doors closed. This was a twist she hadn't imagined – Frank Donovan coming in search of Hope. With a shrug, she turned and moved down the hallway towards her desk as she pulled out her cell phone to call Hope.

--

Hope stared up at the high-rise apartment building. Would Frank even be home at this time of day? Was he even in town? That and a million other thoughts she'd repeated to herself over and over again as the plane flew into Chicago. That Frank might not even be in Chicago was something that Mellody hadn't taken into consideration when she'd conned Mac into making Hope take this pitiful assignment. She shook her head as she stood on the sidewalk, feet rooted into the concrete pavement. What did she say to him when she found him?

"Hi, Frank… it's me… So sorry about running away from you, but I felt like you didn't love me enough for me to stay. Oh yeah, that'll win him over for sure." She chastised herself as she moved towards the door.

"Miss Weathers!!"

Hope jumped at the booming welcome, then regained her composure as she saw Gerard smiling brightly at her. "Oh, hello again Gerard." She walked towards the desk he sat behind and put her purse on the counter as she hugged him hello. "Gerard…"

"He's not here Miss Weathers. He called me and asked me to put a hold on his mail. Said he was flying out of town for a day or two."

Hope's face fell a bit as she processed Gerard's news. Frank wasn't there.

"He sure was broken up by your leaving and your letter Miss Weathers. I've never seen a man so dejected looking as the morning you left."

"Oh Gerard… I know he was hurt.. At the time I didn't feel like I had any alternative. I needed something he couldn't give me."

"What was that Miss Weathers?"

"To know beyond any doubt that he loved me."

"And when did you think he didn't?"

"Ahh Gerard…" Hope chuckled as she slid her purse back on her shoulder. "I needed to hear it from his lips. At the time, I didn't think he loved me unless he told me. Looking back I can tell you that he didn't have to tell me."

"No, Miss Weathers. I saw it in his face each time he thought of you. It's not hard to tell when a man is in love, especially Mr. Donovan. He wears his love for you on his face. It's easy to see with him. I think that's why he was so frightened for you, of hurting you. I know what Mr. Donovan does for a living and it's scary work. Being an FBI agent isn't easy and it's harder on the families. But he loves you Miss Weathers."

Hope smiled and tapped her nails on the desk a few times. "Hmm… yes, I suppose so. Still, it'd be nice to hear it once or twice from his lips. A whisper will do when he thinks I'm not listening, you know." She leaned over the counter and kissed Gerard's cheek. "Good Bye Gerard."

"Where are you going?"

"Back to New York. There's no point in my staying if he's not here in Chicago."

Monica stepped out of the taxi in front of Frank's apartment building and paid the driver. She'd promised him that she'd water his plants while he was gone. It was a laugh that Frank Donovan had live plants in his apartment. But, ever since he'd taken up with Hope Quinn Weathers, he'd changed a lot of things about himself. Live plants, he smiled more often, they even heard him laugh at one of Cody's jokes… She shook her head as she walked into the building. At the desk was Hope talking with the lobby man. "Hope!!"

Hope turned around to see Monica walking in the door. "Monica! How nice to see you again. What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing Hope. I told Frank I'd come by and water his plants while he's in New York. Which begs the inevitable question – what are you doing here if Frank's looking for you in New York?"

"Looking for me?" Hope blinked slowly. "Frank's in New York, looking for me?!"

"Yes. Alex, Jake and I chipped in and bought him a ticket, told him to get off of his ass and go looking for you. We even got some information from your old boss at the Tribune about where you were currently working. He should be talking to one Mackenzie Frasier right now about where to find you. We didn't count on you coming to Chicago."

Hope chuckled for a moment, shaking her head, then burst out in full blown laughter. "Timing is everything, isn't it Monica? My friends, Mellody and Mackenzie, decided to send me here to Chicago on a pithy little assignment that a first year intern could do in their sleep. Their alternate agenda was getting me in the same city as Frank so I would have to talk to him. I'll bet they didn't count on him going to New York in search of me, did they?"

"No, I don't suppose they did. Look, come up to Frank's apartment and wait there with me. I'll call him let him know that-"

"No, Monica. I'm going home. If he's there to find me, then I know just where to find him. It was nice to see you again."

Monica watched as Hope hugged Gerard again, then left the building and got into a cab waiting outside. As the taxi sped off, she pulled out her cell phone to call Frank.

****


	6. Coincidence or Fate?

Another A/N…

Shirl, Thanks so much for the honest opinions and the review. Unfortunately I can't agree with you on the majority of your points. Love makes people do and think strange things. There is a lot about Frank Donovan that was never exposed and that we will never know about. Heck, it took how long for us to see him actually crack a smile? He was a very secretive person.

Do I honestly believe that he would have been so silent? Yes, I think he would have. I would not have written him this way if I didn't have complete faith that he would close off part of his life to protect a woman he loved. And honestly, if you had read the first part of this journey, the FIC titled "Love Letters", I think you would understand a little bit why Hope stayed. It took her forever to face him personally and let him know in her own voice how she felt about him. Until he made her look at him, she couldn't even muster the courage to knock on his door and talk to him. So, would she stay with him? Yes, she would. She knows on a deeper level that he loves her. Just, sometimes it's nice to hear the words instead of assuming them. I know it's nice to hear someone say it to me instead of just 'knowing' it.

I love getting honest reviews like this - constructive and non-abrasive. ~L~ I enjoy getting the chance to explain why I did certain things that way and stand behind my writing.

OK, explanations over with. This is the last chapter for these two unless inspiration hits me again. Which, for this particular saga, I highly doubt. Romance isn't my forte - action and adventure is… of course with a little hint of romance here and there ~wink~

Read On!!

****

Hope groaned and shifted in the seat. There had been one flight left going to New York that night and, unfortunately, it'd been delayed due to mechanical issues. The plane and its passengers had been on the taxi runway when they were turned around and returned to the terminal. At first it was only a few minutes while the mechanics checked everything over. That few minutes turned into thirty… then turned into an hour. Looking at her watch, Hope realized that the hour had become two and a half.

Frank shifted in his seat impatiently. First he'd had to wait an hour to get onto the flight, then the flight itself had to be rerouted forty-five minutes out of the way because of upper level disturbances. The flight attendant had come over the PA and announced that they were 10 minutes from landing at O'Hare. So far he could only hope that Hope was waiting for him at the Tribune building. Whether that woman at the Times had called Hope and told her where to meet him, he had no idea. Now it was up to Fate.

Hope rolled her eyes and stood up. Her stomach had been growling for the last five minutes. Maybe it was time to eat… after all, she hadn't eaten since that morning. A bagel and cream cheese with a mug of coffee didn't go very far – airplane snack pretzels even less. What surprised her was that she hadn't noticed that she was hungry before now. It was almost 7 pm by the terminal clocks, 8 by her time. She looked around to see what was close by. There was a Chili's Too restaurant a good walk down, or there was a McDonald's about 10 feet from where she was sitting. "Ohhh the ultimate choice… " With a sigh, she headed off the opposite direction towards Chili's.

Frank eyed the seatbelt sign with a scathing hatred as the plane rolled to a stop at the jetbridge. "C'mon, c'mon, turn off already," he muttered. Not willing to wait one second more than he had to, Frank flicked off the seatbelt and bolted up the instant the plane jerked to a stop.

  
"Sir… please wait until we're ready for you to deplane."

He glared at the flight attendant. "Then hurry the hell up lady, I've got some business to take care of." To impress upon her the importance of his request, Frank whipped out his badge and ID. Sure, it wasn't a legitimate duty, but the sooner he got out of the plane and on his way towards Hope, the better he'd feel.

"Oh what fresh hell is this…" Hope sighed as the waitress came back.

"I'm sorry Ma'am. But we're all out of the southwestern eggrolls too. Is there anything else I can get for you?"

"How about a southwestern cobb salad? Surely you have lettuce, tomatoes, etc for a cobb salad."

The waitress looked at the woman in front of her as the sarcastic and scathing reply came out of her mouth. "There's no need to-"

Hope's eyes snapped with lime green sparks as she leaned over the counter and growled. "No need?! I've been trapped in this airport hell-hole for the last three hours, haven't eaten since 530 my time, dealt with three kinds of headache and heartaches in the span of one day, been told that my trip out here to Chicago was a monumental waste of my time and now you're telling me that three out of the four items I would prefer to eat off of your menu is not available? Sorry, you tell me what there is no need to get upset about!"

The little waitress swallowed and then turned to hurry into the kitchen. Hope turned around, rested her elbow against the counter and sighed. The one thing in the world that would turn her into a raving bitch was hunger. Forget PMS, lack of sex, stress or 'bad hair days'. It was lack of food pure and simple that turned her into Public Enemy #1.

Frank stalked down the terminal walkway. The gate he arrived at was roughly half a mile from where he'd parked. Not only that, he'd finally received a call from Monica that Hope had been at his apartment building and was probably already back in New York. The only thing that stopped him in his tracks was a familiar voice shouting irately. Backing up a few feet, Frank paused and looked inside the restaurant.

What he saw was an unhappy looking Hope Quinn Weathers leaning back against the counter while a few of the patrons looked around and noticeably kept their distance. Apparently she hadn't eaten at all that day. Not eating all day was the only thing he knew of that made her raise her voice and shout at people. Frank stood there for a few minutes, just simply watching her. It'd only been a few weeks, but it felt like a lifetime that he'd been apart from her.

Hope blinked, catching sight of something out of the corner of her eye. Slowly she turned around to see Frank standing in front of the restaurant and watching her. A hundred different emotions hit her at once - anger, fear, resentment, joy, sorrow, pain… All at the same time she felt anger and resentment for him because he hadn't come to find her sooner. But, she was terrified for the reasons why and the joy of seeing him again battled the sorrow of the last few weeks apart from him. Everything combined created an ache in her very core.

Frank read the play of emotions across her face as they stared into one another's eyes. He smiled briefly, a hesitant smile that flickered across his face as he stepped into the restaurant. Out of the corners of his eyes, in his peripheral vision, he saw the patrons stop and turn to watch. He heard the whispers and gasps as he stopped in front of Hope and simply stared into her eyes. He swept his gaze down over her lime green eyes, the slight smattering of freckles across her cheeks, her sweet upturned nose and those soft petal colored lips.

In a span of a second, Hope felt the breath sucked out of her chest as his lips descended upon hers and her body molded tightly to his own. She felt the tender press of Frank's tongue against her lips, the passionate taste of his mouth as his hands roamed over her body. It was bliss to feel him again, ecstasy to touch his body again and ultimate heaven to feel the hardness of his body pressed against her. However, her world tilted and she let out a startled gasp as she was hauled up roughly and thrown over his shoulder.

"Put me down Frank." Hope giggled as she bounced along over his shoulder down the terminal walkway.

"Not until I get you to my apartment."

"Frank, please. Put me down."

He sighed and stopped, easing her down gently until she stood between him and the wall. "What is it you wanted? I assume there is a reason you asked me to put you down."

"Well, first thing is I have to tell the airline to cancel my ticket and rebook me for tomorrow."

"No."

"No?"

"No. You're coming home with me and I'm not letting you out of my sight Hope Quinn Weathers."

Hope's eyebrows raised clear to her hairline. "No, eh? Well, then what do I tell my Editor? What do I tell my boss now that I'm an Associate Editor at the Times?"

"Tell them to go to hell, because you're staying with me." Frank cupped her cheeks in his palms, the passing people forgotten behind him as he looked deep into her light green eyes. "I love you Hope. I cannot and will not live without you again." As he said it, he dipped his head to nibble tenderly at her lower lip in a butterfly light kiss. However, he heard her gasp sharply and he raised his head to see a tear trickling down one cheek. Tenderly he kissed her cheek, licking the salty tear away before he whispered into her ear, "I love you Hope. I truly do. It took me losing you to see that my fear for your safety blinded me to my actual feelings. I was so worried about protecting you from my work that I neglected to protect you from myself. Can you ever forgive me?"

Hope's eyes slid closed, another tear skating down her cheek as Frank stepped back from her. He said it. The toughest thing he'd ever had to say, she knew it, and he said it to her without her asking this time. After all, it was why she ran to New York, wasn't it? To get him to say it? No, it wasn't. She ran from herself and from the pain… but the pain was worse in New York. Her world was with Frank, at his side, in his heart and in his life - for better or worse. She'd weather any storm with him, even if he'd not said that he loved her.

"Hope?" Frank's voice was tentative, as if testing stormy waters. He couldn't read her eyes and she had yet to answer him. Every fiber in his body prayed to whatever god would listen that it wasn't too late for him. He slid his fingers into her hair gently and tilted her face up to him as he lightly kissed the tip of her nose. "Hope," he whispered again. "Hope, say something please."

Hope opened her eyes slowly and looked into his. She smiled for a moment, then let out a loud whoop and leapt into his arms, wrapping them around his neck even as she wrapped her legs around his waist. As Frank stumbled a moment, then caught her and steadied himself, she showered his face with kisses and whispers. "I'm so sorry I left you… It was selfish of me. Take me home Frank, get me out of here."

"What about your job at the Times?" Frank stopped and looked up into her brilliant green eyes.

"My place is here with you."

****

- finis


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